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32
LORiJ.wALTERS
Thesecalligraphicflightsofexuberancewillbeevidentinoneofmyex-
amples9.
AnotherfacttobegleanedfromtheAlbumrelevanttoourdiscussionis
thattheQueen’sMSisthesecondcollectionChristineofferedtotheQueen.
Thefrstwasconstitutedbywhattodayisclassifedusingtwodifferentshelf
marks,Chantilly,Bibl.DuChateau,492and493,MS492beingproducedbe-
tween1399-1402(p.190).MS493wasaddedtoMS492somewhereinthe
periodbetween1403and1405(p.205).ItisnoteworthythatbothMSS492-493
andtheQueen’sMSwerecopiedbyhandX,whereasinsomeoftheother
largecollectionstheRoseDebateEpistlesarecopiedbyadifferenthand.For
example,inthefamousIDuke’sMS’,whichcontainsanearlierversionofthe
RoseDebateEpistles,thoseEpistleswerecopiedbyhandR10.Itissignifcant
thatChristineherselftranscribedChantilly492-493andtheQueen’sMS,the
onlytwocollectionswearecertainthatshepreparedexpresslyfortheQueen.
OneofthewaysthatChristinepersonalizestheQueen’sMSisbysigningit
inherownhand.ItcanbearguedthatChristinefounditimportanttocopy
personallythecollectionsdestinedfortheQueen.Shereasoned,perhaps,that
itwouldpleasetheQueentorecognizethetracingofherownhandonthegift
shegavetoher.Atthetimethehandmadegiftwasespeciallytreasuredbe-
causeoftheintimate,materialconnectionsithadtothepersonwhomadeit.
Butevenmoreimportantly,Christine’stranscriptionoftheQueen’sMS
fortheQueenillustratesinaconcretefashionherfunctionastheroyalmon-
arch’ssecretary.TheQueenwasaprolifcletterwriter.Between1398and
1402theQueensentover40letterstoPhilippeleHardi,aswellasmanyto
hisnephewLouisd’Orléans,twofgureswhowereoftenatloggerheadspo-
litically11.Ysabelalsosignedmanyoffciallettersanddocuments.Christine’s
9Manyscholarsbelievethattheentiremanuscriptisanautograph,includingtheauthors
oftheAlbumChristinedePizan(withdifferencesinscriptcorrespondingtodifferentmoments
oftranscription),whichwouldmakeallthesignaturesherown.Thisthesisisnotuniversally
accepted,however;seethearticlebyLaidlawandAussemsinthisvolume.Butwecanascertain
thatthesignatureswefndhereresembletheoneappearinginParis,BnF,fr.580,ff.53-54,ofthe
EpistreàlaReineof1405,whereChristinewriteshernameusingtheabbreviation,xpinedepizan.
InthecolophonChristinesaysthatshecopiedtheletterinherownhandataroundmidnight
becausenootherclerkwashandy.Oneeasilyoverlookedpointisthatwhenin1414Christine
presentedtheQueen’sMStoYsabel,asanétrenneorNewYear’sDaygift,theQueenwould
alreadyhavebeenquitefamiliarwithChristine’shand,ahandthathadalreadymanytimes
authenticatedthevoiceandidentityofthesender.ThishadalsobeenthecasefortheEpistre
àlaReinesheincludesinChantilly492-493andforherLamentacionof1410.Sothefactthatin
theHarleymanuscriptChristinewriteshername128timesusingthedivineabbreviationwould
perhapsnothavebeenlostupontheQueen.
10Pintervenessometimes,andtherearealsosomecorrectionsmadebyhandX’(GilbertOuy,
ChristineReno,etInèsVillela-Petit,AlbumChristinedePizan,op.cit.,p.234,272,284,289,299).
11TracyAdams,TheLifeandAfterlifeofIsabeaudeBavaria,Baltimore,MD,JohnsHopkins
UniversityPress,2010,p.9.
